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May 2010

When I introduce our OEM embedded products or solutions to the third-party developers, one vital component of the overall offering is the Advantage HID Connect Partner Program.

The ultimate goal of HID Connect is to offer third-party providers the ability to grow their businesses by helping end-users use their existing HID technology-enabled credentials for new applications. And through these HID Connect partnerships, we deliver added value to our developers.

Apart from adopting advanced technical solutions in today’s competitive business environment, it is also crucial for an OEM developer to conduct cooperative promotions with their solution providers. Through the Advantage HID Connect Partner Program, we offer a full variety of marketing opportunities to help our developer Partners leverage their market presence and HID’s strong installed base of technology-enabled credentials.

Key marketing opportunities our Partners benefit from include:

• A directory page on the HID Connect website highlighting their HID technology-enabled products, including a hyperlink to their website;

• Use of the HID Connect and HID technology logos to identify their partnership with HID Connect;

As an Advantage HID Connect Partner, not only are the developers provided with an OEM embedded product solution, but they are also given a superb opportunity to attain stronger market presence and elevate their product profile at the same time.

The first thing that comes into most of our minds when we think of India is crowded streets, traffic jams, rich textures and vibrant colors and of course the Taj Mahal.

India is now also perceived as an economic giant that is bursting with brilliant software engineers and ambitious entrepreneurs, with the IT industry having been a major contributor to the country’s economic growth.

And India’s IT-BPO companies continue to experience enormous growth: It is expected that the 2010 revenue for IT-BPO industry is US $ 75 billion, while the number of direct employment in this industry reaches 2.5 million, an addition of 110,000 employees.

How did this happen?

Let’s turn the clock back with an inspiring story of how a group of entrepreneurs created India's most respectable IT company Infosys without any financial backup.

The idea of Infosys was conceived in early January 1981 by N R Narayana Murthy and six software engineers as a result of a discussion on establishing a source code development company. Six months later, Infosys was registered as a private limited company. The initial capital was a mere US $ 250, which Murthy borrowed from his wife and upon which the front room of Murthy's apartment was transformed into Infosys’ first office.

Today, Infosys is a NASDAQ listed global consulting and IT services company with more than 105,000 employees. Having optimized the initial investment of US $ 250, Infosys has rapidly grown to a US $ 4.8 billion company with a market capitalization of US $ 33 billion.

Infosys is a symbol of India's information technology glory along with other few Indian companies such as TCS, Wipro and HCL. They changed the perception of the world towards India and secured the admirable fame of “Indian IT". In the last 28 years, Infosys catalyzed some major changes that led to India's emergence as the global destination for software services latent. As India’s first IT company to be listed on NASDAQ, Infosys pioneered the global delivery mode and also created some of India's first salaried millionaires through their employee stock options plan.

Now let’s turn to some of the key growth drivers that are impacting the IT sector in India.

Secondly, HID has a traditionally large installed base in IT-BPO companies. This may translate into promising HID opportunities with companies seeking to leverage that infrastructure to add more applications and technologies.

Thirdly, there are only 2,000 security channel partners compared to over 20,000 IT companies in India and the innovative partner are now looking to add security technology to their portfolio. This represents a huge opportunity for HID Global to expand its channel base in India and also expand into tier 2 and 3 cities.

Looking at the success of Infosys and the current key growth drivers impacting the IT industry in India, it is no doubt in my mind that the IT industry will fuel the next phase of growth for HID in India and we are aligning our business to the opportunities that the IT is presenting to us accordingly. HID Global has made significant strides in the areas of convergence solutions and an SDI offering, and IT will play a significant role in shaping our customer and channel landscape in the region.

Not too long ago, everybody was talking about the global financial and economic meltdown.

However, now people are starting to look towards the future to a roaring “tiger” year. As a result of the economy, many now are more cautious about the planning and spending for projects, especially in the public sector. This has triggered administrators to take a closer look at leveraging what they already have in place before considering making additional investments.

A good example of this trend can be seen in transit agencies and the financial payment industry, where they have moved to contactless smart card technology that leverages their existing infrastructure. The transit cards have been widely accepted by the public as they provide fast access to public transportation and eliminate the need for carrying cash and standing in long lines to purchase tickets from the counter.

Take the Hong Kong Octopus card. It is a rechargeable, contactless card that is passed over a reader to access almost every train, bus or ferry. It is actually a contactless stored value smart card that is used to transfer electronic payment in both online and offline systems in Hong Kong. Throughout the year, Octopus card has evolved from a just a transit card to also being used as a payment card in fast food chains, convenience stores, parking lots and for vending machines. And to date, 19 million Octopus cards are in circulation with an average of 7 million transactions and HK $48 million each day.

Why Aren’t More Transit Agencies Getting on Board?

With too many card issuers, too many diverse technologies, and too many stake holders, the question really becomes, “how can we create a common platform that everybody can use?”.

The Answer is in CEPAS

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) leads the industry in defining and creating the first common platform for Contactless Electronic Payment Application System (CEPAS). CEPAS is a specification for Singapore micro-payment and is a key part of the e-payment infrastructure, with its vision of having single Multipurpose Stored Value (MPSV) card - the first nationwide interoperable micro-payment platform.

HID on the Fast Track

HID Global swiftly introduced its CEPAS compliant iClass Transit reader that enables not only the convergence of transit and payment, but also physical access control. Since the CEPAS card also serves as a supplementary identification and concession card for students in government recognized education institutes, it has opened the door for HID partners to offer a more cost-effective security access system by using iClass Transit reader to public institutions like colleges, universities, various public buildings. On top of this, with Fargo High Definition Printing (HDP) technology, the user can expect the best personalization printing for their card.